BOULDER — Can it get any lower for the Colorado football program? Judging from those down-turned expressions on the faces of stunned players and coaches after a 30-28 loss to lower-level Sacramento State in the home opener, it would be hard to imagine anything more discouraging than Saturday afternoon.

Colorado dropped to 0-2 when Sacramento State drove 72 yards to set up Edgar Castaneda’s game-winning 30-yard field goal with no time remaining. Folsom Field became as quiet as a funeral, and everyone who cared about the team must have thought about its publicly stated 2012 goal of qualifying for a bowl game.

Nobody in the locker room wanted to say it — or believe it — but the chances of the Buffaloes finding six victories somewhere on their remaining schedule might be a bigger surprise than losing on this weekend to a Hornets (1-1) team that was picked to finish ninth out of 13 Big Sky Conference teams in that FCS league’s preseason polls.

“It’s embarrassing,” CU junior defensive end Chidera Uzo-Diribe said.

A Colorado fan among the announced paid attendance of 46,843 was overheard exiting Folsom Field: “This isn’t as bad as when we lost to Drake twice (1979 and 1980 under coach Chuck Fairbanks). But it’s close.”

The challenge for a Colorado program that hasn’t posted a winning record since 7-6 in 2005 under Gary Barnett to regain respectability gets even tougher. The Buffs play next at Fresno State, which prides itself on knocking off teams from bigger conferences. Then comes the Pac-12 schedule.

Colorado coach Jon Embree wasn’t going to sleep on what to do next. He said he was calling a coaches meeting for immediately after his postgame comments to reporters.

“We’re on the same page (as a staff); we just have to get a different book,” Embree said. “The book’s got to change. (Remaining opponents) are going to come after us. We have to find a way.”

All positions on the team will be evaluated, Embree said. “All positions,” he added.

Asked what he would say to disgruntled fans, the coach said: “I’m sorry. I’m going to do everything I can to fix it. I’m a competitor. I’m going to fight until there isn’t anything left.”

Colorado’s defense yielded 466 yards of total offense to a Sacramento State team that couldn’t hang with New Mexico State nine days earlier. The Buffs, playing three true freshmen in the secondary and then losing senior linebacker Doug Rippy to a first-half knee injury, struggled all afternoon in trying to keep up with the Hornets’ zone-read option.

No, Sacramento State’s version isn’t Oregon explosive. But Hornets quarterback Garrett Safron kept the ball in the belly of his running backs long enough to keep Colorado defenders guessing. And the Buffs often guessed wrong.

When CU thought Safron would hand off the ball, he tucked it in and found a running lane. When CU thought he would run, he handed off to running backs. And when Safron pulled back to pass, he continually spotted open receivers who worked the middle against the youngsters in the CU secondary who were worried about getting beat deep on the outside.

Safron threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.

That’s not to say Sperbeck didn’t think his team could play well here. The Hornets had upset another Pac-12 team last year — Oregon State, on the road.

Embree said he had tried to convince his team Sacramento State would arrive with confidence and the game would be a dogfight. The Buffs got off to an exciting start with fullback-turned-tailback Christian Powell, a 6-foot, 235-pound true freshman, breaking loose on the game’s third play for a 64-yard touchdown run.

Later in the first quarter, Powell scored from a yard out to put Colorado up 14-0. The Southern Californian finished with three scores and, with 147 yards, he became the first CU freshman to reach the century mark since Rodney Stewart in 2008.

But Buffs quarterback Jordan Webb completed only half of his 24 passes, was sacked three times and missed some open receivers in the second half when CU needed to keep its defense off the field.

Webb said afterward he isn’t surprised that all CU jobs will be evaluated.

“That’s going to happen when you’re 0-2,” Webb said.

Especially after losing to a team in a lower NCAA classification and with the big boys looming ahead on the schedule.

Key stat:4.4 Average yards per carry for a Sacramento State team that sustained drives all day.

Key play:Stuffed. On third-and-3 at CU’s 35-yard line, leading 28-27 with less than three minutes left, freshman running back Christian Powell was stopped for a 3-yard loss. It forced Colorado to punt and set up Sacramento State’s drive for the winning field goal.

Four assistant basketball coaches at Division I schools and a top Adidas executive were among 10 people charged Tuesday with crimes including bribery and fraud as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.

CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with current client Emmanuel Sanders.